Harriet Brown
Oldest woman in Phoenix
Arizona Republican Newspaper, May 6, 1904

The oldest woman in Phoenix, the oldest in the territory and 
perhaps one of the oldest in the world is Harriet Brown, who 
lives with the family of Samuel Steele at 1001 Montezuma 
Avenue.  Mrs. Brown is supposed to be 107 years old and 
those figures are better authenticated than the ages of 
most reputed very old people.

She is a pensioner of the Civil War and her papers are 
made out by James Gray, Deputy Sheriff.  Yesterday he 
asked her age for notwithstanding her sprightliness she 
has the appearance of having belonged several generations 
back in the history of the world.

She said that until a few years ago she had no idea how 
old she was.  She became curious about her age and wrote 
to her sister still living in Kentucky near where she 
herself was born to find out if she could from persons 
who had lived in the neighborhood since before the war.  
While many remembered her no one had an idea of her age.  
It was known though that she had been a slave and that 
she had had several masters.  Accordingly, a search was 
made of the records at Lexington and it was found that 
she had been sold the last time by a man by the name of 
Morris Brown.  The bill of sale was given in 1853 and 
in it she was described as being fifty six years of age.

She was born near Lexington and according to the bill of 
sale she was born six years after the admission of Kentucky 
to the union, one year before the reorganization of the 
state constitution and the removal of the capital form 
Lexington to Frankfort and only 20 years after Daniel 
Boone founded Harrodsburg.  She remembers Henry Clay very 
distinctly, but she was no spring chicken when the great 
orator was in his prime.  She knows very little of other 
famous Kentuckians of her girlhood and womanhood for 
until after the war she had never been a dozen miles 
from the place of her birth.

She remembers very well the circumstances of her last 
sale.  Her owner Brown was a distiller who failed in 
business and when his affairs were wound up she was all 
he had left.  He had no further use for her and could not 
take care of her.  She remained with her last owner until 
the war was well along.

After the war she married a colored soldier and it was 
through him that she derived her pension.  She and her 
husband went to Kansas in the early days of that commonwealth 
but before it was a commonwealth.  She raised twelve children.

She came to Phoenix several years ago but soon after went 
back to Kansas.  She did not remain there long but returned 
to Phoenix.  Her health has always been good.  She is now 
in possession of her faculties, no signs of extreme old age 
but numberless wrinkles and they are not necessarily signs 
of senility.